Malaysia-China relations blossoming beyond expectation

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's presence at the just-concluded 2014 APEC summit in Beijing, China, succeeded not only in wooing other leaders to work together to make the Asia Pacific the most dynamic region of the world but to ensure that Malaysia and China, the host country for this year's APEC, remain partners in prosperity and peace.

For those who have closely followed the evolution of Malaysia-China relations over these decades, one cannot deny the fact that the relations have indeed blossomed beyond expectation.

Among the many bilateral meetings held, Najib's described his meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang as most special.

"We received special attention because among the heads of states, I was the only one who had the privilege to meet both of them," he was quoted as saying.

A solid diplomatic foundation has been established between the two countries, thus, opening wider and deeper opportunities to further build upon the achievements of the last 40 years.

During a bilateral meeting with Najib on the sidelines of the APEC Summit, Xi described Malaysia as an intimate friend and a trustworthy partner.

This showed that the building of mutual trust and confidence, coupled with deepening economic collaboration had further boosted ties between both nations.

And, as with economic relations deepening and further reforms unlocked, it created further cooperative opportunities, as well as, strengthened diplomatic ties and soaring bilateral trade.

The 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between both countries was an amazing chapter in the history, and the excellent relationship enjoyed by both sides should be turned into a model of relationship between two countries, Xi was quoted as saying.

In fact, Xi said the relationship between both countries has been upgraded to a higher level and similar sentiment was echoed by Li.

A wide range of issues were discussed between Najib and the two leaders with greater emphasis placed on several key areas including approaches to handle the South China Sea issue, the missing MH370 aircraft, the funding for the construction of Xiamen University Malaysia campus and the establishment of

closer defence cooperation between both countries.

In a meeting with Li, the Chinese premier told Najib that China would support the construction of the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park and Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park, as well as, continue encouraging Chinese enterprises to invest in Malaysia.

Li also expressed China's willingness to actively participate in the railway construction in Malaysia, to deepen financial cooperation with Malaysia as both countries had just signed a renminbi clearing settlement agreement during Najib's visit, a pact that will bolster the latter's position as a gateway for RMB flows into Southeast Asia.

The clearing bank will mean reduced cost and ease of doing business between the two countries as payments can be made in RMB, and thus do away with the current need to first convert payments into US dollars.

This is also consistent with Malaysia and China's efforts to achieve US$160 billion worth of trade by 2017. Last year, the two-way figure stood at US$106 billion.

This designated clearing bank will be a catalyst to support rapid growth in bilateral trade, investment and financial flows between Malaysia and China.

Besides becoming a strategic component in Malaysia's financial system and infrastructure, the clearing bank would also allow for a significant pooling of RMB liquidity to meet the financing needs of the local financial institutions and businesses.

"I am confident that Malaysian financial institutions will be able to utilise this advantage to pursue greater use of RMB to facilitate greater regional trade and investment in their extensive network in Asean, thus

strengthening Malaysia's position as a gateway for RMB flows in the Asean region," Najib said.

Meanwhile, the presence of world leaders in Beijing for the APEC Summit gave China a platform to lobby for a bigger leadership role, as well as, emerge as one of the world's next superpower.

As evident, on the eve of the gathering, Beijing announced a free-trade agreement with South Korea, followed by regulators approving a plan to open Chinese stock markets wider to foreign investors by linking exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

And, at the summit, China, being the second largest economy in the world, was promoting its own regional free-trade pact, despite US pressure to make progress in other initiatives.

It is the first time Beijing has taken the lead to promote a multinational trade agreement.

In addition, not to forget, China's willingness to organise the APEC summit for the first time after 2001 really showed that the country was ready to take on any challenge as it viewed this as a mission entrusted by the countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific, which also showed their trust in China.

To recap, in order to ensure the APEC summit would go on without any hitches, Beijing imposed a series of measures to combat its notorious pollution, including traffic restrictions, factory closures and a six-day holiday for public sector workers.

An APEC official said: "All APEC members look to this year’s event for consensus and real breakthroughs in regional integration. They look to the Asia-Pacific region for maintaining prosperity and development and driving world economic recovery and growth.

"And, they look to China, the second largest economy in the world, for leveraging its role as host to make fresh contributions to APEC’s development and Asia-Pacific’s revitalisation".

The modern Beijing has developed into a metropolis with rich cultural heritage, sound industrial structure, cutting-edge technology and friendly relations with cities from APEC economies and region across the world.

Beijing was the host of the 29th Summer Olympics in 2008 and currently, it is working hard to implement the strategy of "People's Beijing, Hi-tech Beijing and Green Beijing" and to build itself into a world-class harmonious and liveable city. - Azlina Aziz